MORGANTOWN – In the wake of overwhelming support and no stated opposition, Hope Gas has submitted to the Public Service Commission a proposed order approving its Morgantown pipeline project.
Hope submitted the order on its Morgantown Connector Project – referred to as MCP throughout – on Thursday.
Summarizing the reasoning for approval, Hope proposes this conclusion [several typos corrected]: “The Commission agrees that the proposed MCP, as well as Hope’s decision to interconnect with Columbia [Gas] at Wadestown and acquire additional upstream firm capacity on Columbia, are reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest as they enable Hope to increase its peak-day coverage, provide more reliable gas service, provide additional increased services to customers, and provide a much needed and redundant source of gas supply into Morgantown, all for the benefit of Hope’s, Mountaineer’s, and Cardinal’s customers, and, generally, the growing Morgantown community.”
The pipeline is planned to run a total of 30 miles from Wadestown in western Monongalia County eastward to the edge of Morgantown and then northwest to site near Osage, at an estimated cost of $177,437,169.
Hope estimates that the project will generate about 600 jobs, which will make up about half the project cost. Other major costs are the 30 miles of pipeline and five measurement and regulation stations.
Hope is seeking a PSC order by June 18, 2024. It says it must begin construction no later than Nov. 1, 2024, to fit within narrow legal windows for certain tree clearing activities, and in order to have the new facilities come into service by Nov. 1, 2025 – the beginning of that winter’s heating season.
Additional restoration and cleanup would continue to the second quarter of 2026.
Project support has come from PSC staff and PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division, natural gas producer Northeast Natural Energy, Mon Health System and Charleston-based Mountaineer Gas, which also services the Morgantown area.
Hope is not proposing any rate hikes at this time for the pipeline but says it intends to recover costs in future base rate and purchased gas adjustment cases.
Hope’s proposed order also includes a proposed response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Dominion Post.
Hope sought a protective order concerning certain highly detailed maps and drawings, project costs that should remain confidential because certain project work remains subject to a bidding procurement process, and discussion of estimated revenue from certain services Hope might provide.
PSC staff objected, and the PSC ordered Hope to disclose the overall project cost – the $177 million – but withheld judgment on the rest pending a FOIA request. The Dominion Post accordingly filed one, and Hope filed its objections.
In Thursday’s proposed order, Hope proposes a PSC response to the various elements of the protective order.
It proposes a flat denial of the request to produce maps and drawings, saying portions describe existing utility plants and equipment and are exempt from FOIA, while Hope has already provided a public map of the proposed route (which parallels existing pipeline).
Regarding project costs, Hope restates its argument that it will be seeking construction bids to union contractors, which will not be complete until the third quarter of 2024, and disclosure “would give other third parties, presumably those bidding in the procurement process, a ‘business advantage’ over Hope, and potentially expose Hope and its customers to higher project costs.
Because that concern will end once bidding is complete, the order proposes that the information remain confidential until that time, and Hope will then notify the PSC so the PSC can take further action regarding disclosure.
Regarding estimates of new revenue Hope might earn through sales to other producers that buy its gas and services, and from increased levels of delivered gas.
Regarding increased delivered gas (maximum daily volume, MDV), Hope says anyone can guess at those figures using Hope’s publicly available rate figures. “One can perform a simple math calculation to arrive at an estimate of possible revenues that Hope might receive from providing additional increased MDV levels of service, and these are only estimates.”
So Hope will provide MDV revenue estimates within 10 days of the PSC’s actual order in a closed filing.
Regarding producer revenues, Hope’s proposed order says those are trade secrets that would give others a business advantage over Hope and are protected under FOIA, and disclosure is therefore denied.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
